OF OHIO 



93 



PLUMBERS' WOODWORK 



The manufacturers of plumbers' supplies report the use of 

 4,691,000 feet of wood for their product. White oak easily heads 

 the list, furnishing- over sixty-seven percent of the total amount. 

 In Ohio this industry is confined entirely to the manufacture of 

 water closet seats and tanks, and woods with considerable figure 

 and susceptible of taking a fine finish, like those used for fixtures 

 and furniture, are the ones reported. Naturally plain and quar- 

 tered white and red oak lead the lists and are followed by others for 

 exterior work such as ash, sweet birch, cherry, mahogany, sugar 

 maple and black walnut. Quantities of sweet birch were demanded 

 because better than any other wood it can be finished to imitate 

 mahogany, while soft maple and yellow poplar answered for painted 

 or enameled work. Chestnut and yellow poplar and red gum, prin- 

 cipally yellow poplar, served as tank backing. Only fifteen percent 

 of the wood used in this industry was home-grown. The greater 

 part of the incoming lumber was shipped from the south. 



TABLE LVI. Plumbers' woodwork 



TRUNKS AND VALISES 



The manufacture of trunks is one of the less important indus- 

 tries in this State, The trunk makers are located in the large cities, 

 so as to be in touch with the greatest demand. Basswood, the 

 favorite wood for trunk boxes, furnishes about three-fourths of all 

 the material the Ohio trunk makers use. It works easily, holds its 

 shape well, and the fact that it is quite strong for its weight more 

 than any other quality enhances its value for this line of manu- 

 facture. It is very white but inasmuch as little, if any, of the wood 

 is visible in the finished product, being covered with leather, cloth 

 or metal, the figure or color of it is not essential. Veneers are now 



